Chapter Twelve: A Choice To Make
1808 Words
The morning came too quickly.
Nila opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling for several seconds without moving.She didn't go back straight to school after coming from Remire's house rather she went to her own house to get somethings she might need.
She had barely slept.
Every time she closed her eyes, different faces appeared in her mind. Xavier. Kimberley. Remire.
And then she remembered where she had gone the previous day.
Remire's house.
She slowly sat up and rubbed her tired eyes.
“What was I thinking?” she whispered.
She had left school without telling anyone and ended up standing at the door of the one person she had spent weeks trying to forget.
And the worst part was that when Remire opened the door and saw her, she had felt something she desperately didn't want to feel.
Safe.
Nila sighed and got out of bed.
She had barely finished getting dressed when Aurora walked into the room.
“You're awake already?”
Nila nodded.
Aurora studied her face.
“You look like you didn't sleep at all.”
“I slept.”
Aurora raised an eyebrow.
“Nila.”
Nila looked away.
Aurora walked closer and sat beside her.
“What happened yesterday? because I believed you didn't come back here straight from school.”
“Nothing.”
“Where did you came from yesterday?"
“Nowhere"
“You're a terrible liar.”
Nila forced a small smile.
Aurora didn't smile back.
“You've been carrying something for a while. You don't have to tell me everything, but don't pretend you're fine when you're clearly not.”
Nila remained silent.
After a few seconds, she finally whispered, “I'm confused.”
“About what?”
“Everything.”
Aurora waited.
Nila looked down at her hands.
“I thought I knew what I wanted. I thought I had finally moved on. But now…”
She stopped.
“But now what?”
“I don't know anymore.”
Aurora gently squeezed her hand.
“Then don't force yourself to decide today.”
Nila looked at her.
“Sometimes your heart needs time to catch up with everything your mind already understands.”
Nila nodded quietly.
Maybe Aurora was right.
But she knew one thing.
Going back to Remire had changed something.
She just didn't know what.
---
Remire was back to school earlier in the morning,he has been thinking about Nila so he was back at early morning so he could see her again, he sat on the edge of his bed, staring at his phone.
He hadn't even changed his clothes.
His mind was still stuck on the previous evening.
Nila had come to his house.
Nila.
After everything that had happened between them, she had still come to him.
He couldn't stop thinking about it.
A knock sounded on his bedroom door.
Alex entered without waiting for permission.
“Bro, you look terrible this morning, since you came, did anything happened at home? ”
Remire didn't answer.
Alex stared at him.
“Did you fight somebody?”
Remire finally looked at him.
“No.”
Alex folded his arms.
“Then what happened?”
Remire hesitated.
He had kept everything to himself since yesterday, but somehow Alex was the one person he could talk to.
“Nila came to my house.”
Alex's expression changed instantly.
“What?...."
“I am still trying to believe that happened.”
“You're serious?”
Remire nodded.
Alex walked closer.
“What did she want?”
“I don't know.”
“You don't know?”
“She was crying.”
Alex became quiet.
Remire looked down.
“She looked exhausted, Alex. I have never seen her like that.”
“What did you say to her?”
“We talked.”
“About?”
“Everything.”
Alex studied his friend's face.
“And?”
Remire gave a small, bitter smile.
“She doesn't trust me anymore.”
Alex sighed.
“Well… can you blame her?”
Remire looked at him.
“No.”
For once, there was no excuse.
No anger.
No blaming Nila.
Just regret.
“I kept thinking she would always be there,” Remire said quietly. “I thought no matter what I did, Nila would eventually come back.”
“And now?”
Remire looked toward the window.
“Now I'm scared she won't.”
Alex didn't answer.
Because for the first time, Remire sounded like someone who had finally understood what he had lost.
---
By the time Nila arrived at school, the entire atmosphere felt different.
She walked through the hallway with her books pressed against her chest.
Kimberley spotted her almost immediately.
“Nila.”
She stopped.
He walked toward her.
“Are you okay?”
“Yes.”
“You disappeared yesterday.”
Nila looked away.
“I needed some air.”
Kimberley frowned.
“You left school.”
“I know.”
“Where did you go?”
Nila remained silent.
Kimberley studied her face.
“Nila, I'm not asking because I want to control you. I'm asking because I was worried.”
“I know.”
“Then tell me.”
She looked at him.
“I went somewhere.”
Kimberley waited for more.
Nothing came.
His expression slowly changed.
“You went to see him, didn't you?”
Nila's eyes widened slightly.
She didn't answer.
Kimberley swallowed.
“Remire.”
Still nothing.
That silence was enough.
Kimberley looked away for a moment, trying to control his emotions.
“So you went to him.”
“I didn't go there for what you're thinking.”
“Then why?”
“I don't know.”
Kimberley looked back at her.
“You don't know?”
Nila shook her head.
“I was overwhelmed. I just needed someone.”
“And you chose him.”
Nila lowered her eyes.
Kimberley laughed softly, but there was no happiness in it.
“Right.”
He turned to leave.
“Kimberley.”
He stopped.
Nila wanted to say something.
Anything.
But nothing came.
He eventually walked away.
Nila watched him disappear down the hallway.
Her chest felt heavy.
She hated hurting him.
But she hated pretending even more.
---
Later that afternoon, Xavier found Kimberley behind the school building.
“You still haven't changed your mind.”
Kimberley looked at him.
“Neither have you.”
“No.”
Xavier crossed his arms.
“I told you yesterday. Think carefully about what you're doing.”
Kimberley scoffed.
“I know exactly what I'm doing.”
“Do you?”
“Yes.”
“You're fighting for a girl who hasn't even decided what she wants.”
Kimberley became quiet.
Xavier continued.
“You're so focused on beating Remire that you're forgetting the person you're actually fighting for.”
“I'm not trying to beat him.”
“Then stop treating this like a competition.”
Kimberley's jaw tightened.
“I care about Nila.”
“Then care about what she wants.”
Kimberley looked away.
Xavier's voice softened.
“You can't force someone to choose you just because you love them.”
Kimberley remained silent.
Xavier stepped closer.
“I'm not telling you to give up. I'm telling you to think before you destroy yourself trying to win something that may not even belong to you.”
Kimberley stared at him.
“And what if I know she's worth fighting for?”
“Then fight properly.”
Xavier walked away.
Kimberley remained where he was.
For the first time, his confidence cracked.
Because Xavier had said something he couldn't easily dismiss.
He didn't know what Nila wanted.
And that scared him.
---
That evening, Kimberley found Nila sitting alone outside the library.
He approached slowly.
“We need to talk.”
Nila looked up.
“Okay.”
He sat beside her.
For several seconds, neither spoke.
Then Kimberley asked the question he had been carrying all day.
“Do you still love him?”
Nila froze.
Her heart began beating faster.
She opened her mouth.
Nothing came out.
Kimberley watched her carefully.
He didn't need an answer anymore.
Her silence had already spoken.
“Then what am I to you?” he asked quietly.
Nila looked at him.
“You're important to me.”
“That isn't what I asked.”
She looked down.
“I don't know.”
Kimberley nodded slowly.
That answer hurt, but at least it was honest.
“I can accept that.”
Nila looked surprised.
“You can?”
“I'd rather hear the truth than have you lie to make me feel better.”
Nila's eyes softened.
“I'm sorry.”
“Don't be.”
Kimberley stood.
“When you figure it out, tell me.”
He walked away.
Nila watched him go.
Her heart felt heavier than before.
She had wanted peace.
Instead, she had two people waiting for an answer she wasn't ready to give.
---
The following day, something unexpected happened.
Remire walked into basketball practice.
No shouting.
No fighting.
No distractions.
He simply picked up the ball and started playing.
His teammates stared at him.
Even Alex looked surprised.
Remire played harder than he had in weeks.
He stopped complaining.
He stopped looking toward Kimberley.
He stopped trying to prove himself.
He just played.
Nila happened to be passing by the court when she heard the familiar sound of the basketball hitting the floor.
She stopped.
Through the fence, she watched Remire move across the court.
He looked different.
Focused.
Calm.
The old Remire was still there, but something about him had changed.
Then he looked up.
Their eyes met.
For a moment, everything around them seemed to disappear.
Remire didn't run toward her.
He didn't call her name.
He simply looked at her.
Nila smiled.
It was small.
Almost invisible.
But Remire saw it.
His heart skipped.
Nila quickly looked away and continued walking.
But this time, she wasn't running from him.
---
That night, Nila lay on her bed staring at her phone.
A message appeared.
Kimberley: We need to talk about what you really want.
Nila stared at it.
Before she could respond, another message arrived.
Remire: I won't force you to choose. But I won't stop trying to become someone worth choosing.
Nila's fingers froze above the screen.
She read both messages again.
Then she slowly placed the phone beside her.
For the first time, she understood something terrifying.
This was no longer about choosing between the boy she loved before and the boy who had entered her life later.
It was about figuring out what she wanted.
And Nila wasn't sure she was ready for the answer.
She closed her eyes.
Somewhere between her past and her present, her heart had become a battlefield.
And tomorrow, she would have to step onto it.
TBC...
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